Solar-Powered EV to Drive Green for Life

EV owners benefit from an efficient engine and a domestic energy source; however, the energy source will likely be electricity derived from coal and natural gas and maybe a little bit from nuclear and renewable sources like hydro, solar, and wind. To improve this, Ford and SunPower Corp. today announced a new initiative called “Drive Green for Life” to offer solar power to purchasers of Focus Electric and the C-MAX Energi plug-in hybrid vehicles.

The Drive Green for Life program calls for a 2.5 kilowatt rooftop system with SunPower E18 Series panels that produce an average of 3,000 kilowatt hours of energy a year, according to a press release.

SunPower’s system was designed to offset the electricity required to charge a vehicle at night assuming the owner drives about 1,000 miles or less per month.

In addition, with Ford’s agreement with Best Buy, purchasers will have the opportunity to couple a 240-volt home charging system with the top-of-the-line SunPower solar array.

The system is offered at a base price of $10,000, after federal tax credits, subject to conditions. Other local rebates and incentives may push the price down, depending on location. The solar PV system also includes a residential monitoring feature that tracks the performance of the array and displays it on the web or on an iPhone.